Second period (mid 40s – 1848)
The years 1843 to 1848 marked a significant change in Thackeray’s development as a writer. His personal involvement in his works became more apparent, and his association with Punch heightened his understanding of society’s injustices. During this period, Thackeray wrote a series of short stories, Men’s Wives (1843), that illustrate his misgivings about women and marriage. Along these same lines, he wrote several other pieces. One of particular note, “Bluebeard’s Ghost,” is the tale of a young widow’s devotion to her dead partner; in it, Thackeray’s love for Jane Brookfield and his jealousy of her fidelity to her husband are clear. The opulence of the eighteenth century, the lives of rogues, the education of gentlemen, and the presence of doting mothers blend in his best work of these middle years, The Luck of Barry Lyndon. Although the theme of the novel is social pretension, it is also a deliberate spoof of popular historical, crime, and romantic novels. The Snobs of England, by One of Themselves (1846-1874; later published as The Book of Snobs,1848, 1852) is Thackeray’s classic assault on pretentiousness. His message is that the remedy for social ills is social equality.
The third period - after 1848
Thackeray’s first great novel, Vanity Fair, marks the beginning of his literary acclaim. The title, taken from John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678, 1684), and Thackeray’s preface reveal the moral purpose behind his satire.
The History of Pendennis: His Fortunes and Misfortunes, His Friends and His Greatest Enemy (1848-1850) is an important book in any study of Thackeray’s technique, as it presents the background for the persona who was to narrate The Newcomes and as it shows Thackeray’s struggles with Victorian priggishness. In both The History of Pendennis and The Newcomes, Thackeray’s satirical edge had disappeared. His retreat from satire was quite deliberate; he wanted to appeal instead to the hearts and souls of his reading public.
Thackeray’s manner of character’s portrayal
The basis of Thackeray's novels and humorous essays is his pessimism and realistic portrayal of English life, the author wanted to set the truth of life against the conditional idealization of typical English novels. In the novel of that time, the ideal hero or heroine was assumed, however, Thackeray, calling his best work - “Vanity Fair” - a novel without a hero - puts evil or at least egoistic people in the center of action. Proceeding from the conviction that evil in life is much more interesting and diverse than good, Thackeray studied the characters of people acting out of bad motives. Depicting the evil, vices and pettiness of his characters, he thereby brighterly preached positive ideals, at the same time, carried away by his vicious heroes, he aroused the reader’s greater interest in them.
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A peculiar aspect in the works of Thackeray is pessimism combined with humor, giving them vitality and, at the same time, real artistry. Although in his realistic methods Thackeray is similar to Dickens, he differs from him in that he does not make concessions to the sentimental idea of the English virtue, but ruthlessly draws people in all their unattractiveness. His novels turn into satire, with a vivid image of human vices in a very unsightly form.
Becky Sharp, the heroine of Vanity Fair, is a poor girl who has set herself the goal of "settling down" in life. She is not shy in choosing the means, using her mind and beauty to entangle the people she needs: she enchants the wealthy old bachelors, marrying a young officer who has loved her, she deceives him. Despite the fact that her antics are open, she works in such a way as to maintain her position in the world and the opportunity to live in luxury. In the image of Becky Sharp brightly embodied greed, vanity and selfishness, characteristic of people absorbed in the pursuit of everyday goods.
The development of the genre of novel in the epoch of the Enlightenment: the novels of S. Richardson, H. Fielding, T.S. Smollet.
The period of the mature Enlightenment in England, covering the 40s – 50s of the 18th century, was marked by the rapid flourishing of the realistic educational novel. Drama, pamphlet, essay and other genres, popular in the early enlightenment stage, continue to play a prominent role in the cultural life of the country, but cease to be leading. The novel is gaining dominant positions in English literature and serves as an effective means of promoting and popularizing educational ideas.
The beginning of the mature Enlightenment in England is connected with the work of Samuel Richardson (1689 - 1761), the same age as Glorious Bloodless Revolution, who embodied the democratic ideals she advanced in her works.
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His first novel “Pamela, or Rewarded Virtue”, Richardson began writing when he was fifty years old. The first two volumes of the book saw the light in 1740, the second part, also consisting of two volumes, appeared a year later. The plot of the novel is a cautionary tale of the young Pamela Andrews, whose chastity is attempted by the son of her late lady and patroness, Mr. V .; in order to achieve his nefarious purpose, he sets in motion lies, slander, threats and bribery, until finally Pamela’s moral purity, her mind and gentleness do not captivate the squire so much that, defying the class obstacles, he invites his servant to become his legitimate wife.
The whole novel consists of Pamela's letters to parents. The form of the novel in letters allows the author to reveal the spiritual world of the heroine with the deep psychological certainty, the most complicated vicissitudes of her relationship with the young squire. The psychological aspect of the plot collision is closely intertwined with the socio-ethical: Pamela and Mr. B. oppose each other as representatives of various social classes and as carriers of opposing moral principles. "Prostrate" virtues in the novel prevail over the aristocratic vice.
Henry Fielding (1707 - 1754 ) together with Swift stands in the front ranks of the English enlighteners, not satisfied with the social results of the compromise of 1689, with anger and indignation describing the kingdom of total corruption.
The formation of the critical positions of Fielding was greatly influenced by Locke and Shaftesbury.
Speaking of numerous executions in London with anger and sorrow, Fielding observes that with proper measures “the majority of these poor people could be not only happy, but extremely useful members of society”. The more vigorously he asserts the rights and dignity of the individual, the more bitterness at the sight of her humiliation penetrates the satire he created. In the hands of optimist Fielding, the weapon of laughter, turned against the hypocritical optimism of the ruling classes, becomes an effective defense of their victims. He seeks to influence the public consciousness, to show the abyss that separates things from their due, to bring reality into line with the requirements of reason.
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In the comedy of Fielding's work, the parody-satirical beginning is most clearly felt. Thus, The Tragedy of the Tragedies, or the Life and Death of the Great-Boy the Great Finger (1731), is entirely based on the mockery of the imaginary grandeur of the sovereigns of the world and the enthusiastic portrayal of their low worshipers. In the play Don Quixote in England (1734), Fielding shows Don Quixote's tragicomic attempts to understand the cynical intrigues of campaign leaders. “They may call me insane, Sancho,” he says, “but I am not insane enough to seek their approval.” According to Fielding, the madness of Don Quixote is immeasurably superior to the base practicality of his opponents, although his utopian reverie contrasts ridiculously with the prosaic reality. The merry play drew the tragic clash of the hero's noble principles with the moral savagery of modern politicians.
In the comedy “Pasquin” (1736), Fielding depicts a bloody clash between the troops of the Queen Ignorance and the troops of the Queen Common sense, in England, is constantly insulted. The writer sees a direct violation of her rights in the bribery system during elections: in one of the scenes, candidates for parliament, passing between rows of voters, give them bribes to the right and left, not in a figurative sense, but literally, so that none of the spectators will miss anything in order to the play's wit "sounded to the whole kingdom." General corruption, embodied in the character’s image, which clearly resembles Prime Minister Walpole, is shown in the play “Historical Yearbook for 1736.”
Tobias Smollett (1721 - 1771) belonged to a poor but well-born Scottish family, became a doctor, but early refused to practice medicine for literary work. Having neither experience nor noble patrons, Smollett made desperate efforts to break out of obscurity, tried himself in all possible genres, wrote plays, poems, scholarly writings.
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Like Fielding, Smollett was extremely skeptical about the political structure of England in his days.
The first in the series of famous novels by Smollett turned out to be the “Adventures of Rodrick Random” (1748). A gifted, energetic man, the hero of the novel from birth was doomed to a struggle for existence. In an effort to achieve success, independence, recognition, he does not shun neither deception, nor evil tricks, nor the search for a rich bride. He suffers a lot of misfortunes and misfortunes, becomes a victim of dishonesty and cruelty, more than once goes to jail - and only meetings with his good friend Strap, with loving uncle Baling, with his unexpectedly rich father save him from certain death and bring him long-awaited happiness.
The novel paints a society that is deeply depraved: among women there is a huge number of prostitutes, more or less high-ranking, among men thieves, robbers, flatterers, pimps who sell themselves and others predominate.
The epistolary novel “Humphrey Clinker's Journey” (1771) became the ideological and artistic result of Smollett's creative work and, at the same time, a new stage of its development. Reproducing the letters of his traveling heroes to people close to them, Smollett, on the one hand, faithfully portrays everything they see in northern England and Scotland, and on the other, penetrates the inner world of the writers, reveals the diverse differences in their attitudes to the same events and problems.
15. Christopher Marlowe’s creative activity. His outstanding work "The Tragedy of Doctor Faustus".
Christopher Marlowe Poet, Playwright (c. 1564–1593)
Playwright, poet. Christopher Marlowe was a poet and playwright at the forefront of the 16th-century dramatic renaissance. His works influenced William Shakespeare and generations of writers to follow.
Early Years
Christopher Marlowe was born in Canterbury around February 26, 1564 (this was the day on which he was baptized). He went to King's School and was awarded a scholarship that enabled him to study at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, from late 1580 until 1587.
The nature of Marlowe's service to England was not specified by the council, but the letter sent to Cambridge has provoked abundant speculation, notably the theory that Marlowe had become a secret agent working for Sir Francis Walsingham's intelligence service. No direct evidence supports this theory, but the council's letter clearly suggests that Marlowe was serving the government in some secret capacity.
Early Writing Career
After 1587, Christopher Marlowe was in London, writing for the theater and probably also engaging himself occasionally in government service. What is thought to be his first play, Dido, Queen of Carthage, was not published until 1594, but it is generally thought to have been written while he was still a student at Cambridge. Marlowe's second play was the two-part Tamburlaine the Great (c. 1587; published 1590). This was Marlowe's first play to be performed on the regular stage in London and is among the first English plays in blank verse. It is considered the beginning of the mature phase of the Elizabethan theater and was the last of Marlowe's plays to be published before his untimely death.
The Plays
The Jew of Malta
The Jew of Malta (fully The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Jew of Malta), with a prologue delivered by a character representing Machiavelli, depicts the Jew Barabas, the richest man on all the island of Malta. His wealth is seized, however, and he fights the government to regain it until his death at the hands of Maltese soldiers.
The play swirls with religious conflict, intrigue and revenge, and is considered to have been a major influence on Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. The title character, Barabas, is seen as the main inspiration for Shakespeare's Shylock character in Merchant. The play is also considered the first (successful) black comedy, or tragicomedy.
Edward the Second
The historical Edward the Second (fully The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England, with the Tragical Fall of Proud Mortimer) is a play about the deposition of England's King Edward II by his barons and the queen, all of whom resent the undue influence the king's men have over his policies.
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